Testimonials

Shawn (children attended 2019-present)

Wonderful school for our toddler and baby! This is our second daycare in Seattle, and our 3rd experience with daycare overall. We’ve also had excellent nannies. This school is AMAZING – photos every day, vegetarian healthy breakfast lunch and snacks served (our LO ate curry!?!? wow), a daily curriculum with new activities and new targets to learn every week, very low turnover rate (do teachers even leave this school?), outside time for all the kids (including soccer and frisbee at the park across the street), and probably best of all — I have never heard a teacher yell at the children. At our last daycare, you couldn’t go a day without someone yelling and the kids, and the kids being completely out of control. At Interlake, the teachers have a policy not to yell (because otherwise the kids will yell too), and the kids are honestly so much better behaved — they treat others with respect, they check in with their friends if something is wrong (it’s adorable!). In the past month, our kids have done pumpkin painting, baked bread, made paper lanterns, and delivered bags to homes to assist with a food drive. These teachers come up with so many creative lessons: they put effort into thoughtful activities to create socially adjusted, well-behaved kids; they instruct kids on when it’s time for fun movement; and they really care about the kids. I’m so happy we found this place.

Katie (children attended 2016-present)

My children have been going to Interlake for the past 3 years, and it feels like a second home to us. We’ve enjoyed the dedicated and passionate teachers and staff, and have found wonderful friends among the kind and caring families at the school. The building may be old and quirky, but it’s a wonderful and loving place for kids. Interlake recently hired a new Interim Executive Director who is leading the school in a great direction. The center has an emergent, play-based curriculum and is NAYEC certified. Interlake offers home-cooked vegetarian meals made by an amazing cook who has been working there for the past 19 years (you can even buy her cookbook and make vegetable-filled meals that your kids will actually eat at home). I highly recommend Interlake!

Laura (children attended 2016-present)

Interlake is a gem of a daycare/child development center. I am impressed with the long-term staff and dedicated teachers. My kids have grown and thrived at Interlake. The curriculum is inclusive, engaging and adaptive based on the children’s interests. The made from scratch meals are amazing. I am thankful I don’t have to prepare snacks and meals for my kids to take to school and the food is incredible. The family style dining encourages great eating habits. I think my children are exposed to a greater variety of food and try more foods because all the kids are eating together. The first time I saw all the kids eating together – scooping their own food, pouring their milk and sharing a meal together, I was blown away. I also value the great outdoor space and how much outside time each of the classrooms get. Rain or shine – those kids are running around and burning off energy. My kids get a lot of mileage on their rain boots.I was a bit surprised that even the infant classrooms have “parent teacher conferences” but these meetings are so valuable. The teachers develop portfolios on each child with artwork and share how your child is engaging in the classroom and curriculum. I really appreciate the developmental assessments and team support of the teachers in working with each child and family. I have learned so much from the teachers on child development and parenting.I feel like I have developed a valuable community at Interlake with the teachers, staff and other parents. I hope that these connections continue past the tenure of my kids attending. I highly recommend this daycare.

Jenny and Jeremy (children attended through 2018)

We have been blessed to have been part of the Interlake family for over six years. It truly is a community; I love knowing that my children are being cared for, respected, loved and stimulated while I’m at work and can’t be with them. The friendships the kids made are amazing as well – my elementary school aged son still counts his Interlake friends among his best friends!

Barrie and Dominic (child attended through 2018)

From the teachers, to the kids, to the parents, to the yearly camping trip – we love everything about Interlake. How do we know Luca loves it, too? Because he talks about his friends and teachers all the time. He requests to see them when we leave. He shows compassion, he’s empathetic, he puts away his dishes, and he loves to sing his ABCs. And sure, maybe we taught him some of that… but we know that Interlake had a hand in shaping our little baby into the big kid he is today.

Natasha and Ted (child attended 2014-2016)

As a Kindergarten teacher, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for in a school for my own little boy. I feel so lucky to have found Interlake Childcare and Learning Center.

I was looking for a child-centered, play-based environment where my son could blossom and learn the foundation skills that I consider so important during the early childhood years. At Interlake, I found fantastic, dedicated teachers who provide a purposeful, meaningful, and developmentally appropriate multi-age classroom where my child has enjoyed being nurtured by the older children and is now practicing his leadership skills in his pre-K year.

Interlake teachers provide a balance of small group instruction and self-directed play. They enrich the children’s learning by setting up numerous stations and providing interesting materials to capture the excitement of the preschoolers. Teaches bring their own excitement about topics to the classroom, while also following the lead of the children in their emergent curriculum.

I love how the children are encouraged to explore academic skills in developmentally appropriate, playful, individualized, and child-driven ways. More important than any academic skills, however, are the social skills. I am beyond thrilled with what my son has learned so far at Interlake. I see amazing empathy, compassion, self control, problem-solving skills, curiosity, and risk assessment skills in my child. I am so happy to have chosen Interlake.

All of the fantastic teachers gave Keenan such a great start in life! We knew he loved Interlake, but one sure sign was when I would come to pick him up, he would spot me, get a big grin, then turn around and run to some activity to show off and also get just a little more play in! I also remember the messy clothes he’d come home in, another sign of the fun he was having every day.

Tom and Alison (children attended 1987-1991)

I remember the smell of baking bread. I remember pretzels and chanting “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit” about the colored cups at meal time. I remember hiding in the cubby in the hallway at the end of the day when I didn’t want to go home. I remember making and burying fossils out in the preschool yard. I remember taking leaves off the kale plant and being surprised every time by its weird taste.

I remember movies on a projector at parent’s night out and being thrilled, but kind of disconcerted by wearing my pajamas at school. I remember Mikey Baby [former director] reading The Hobbit to us at naptime. I remember a field trip to The Indoor Sun Shop when it was over on 45th in the U District. Did we take the bus? I remember the magic of our graduation picnic dinner at the Good Shepherd Center… again, I remember the smell of baking bread, but I especially remember playing with [Mikey’s] daughter’s Barbie dreamhouse.

From Interlake:

For some of you, it’s probably been a while since you stepped through the Hobbit Door, ate Stone Soup, or went on a visit to the Pumpkin Patch. But we know you remember those experiences and what they meant to your family.

Thank you for all you did when your child (or children!) attended Interlake, and all the ways you have “stayed in touch” by joining us for picnics, potlucks and the auction, sending in kid updates and photos, and giving your generous financial support. Your support of Interlake has allowed us to keep doing what we do best: nurturing the values and skills that create competent, confident and compassionate world citizens.

Our center is growing and changing, and we’d love to keep up connections with the wonderful families who have helped make Interlake the special and vibrant place that it is for children, teachers, and families alike. Interlake wants to hear from you, as valuable members of our community. Feel free to give us a call or drop by to visit. The Hobbit Door is always open….

We look forward to hearing from you! Feel free to send us an email at admin@interlakechildcare.org.

Our Mission Statement

Interlake Child Care & Learning Center creates an inclusive and vibrant community with families and young children. Interlake’s loving environment and anti-bias, culturally relevant curriculum inspires children to grow into competent, confident and compassionate citizens of the world.

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NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

Interlake Child Care and Learning Center does not discriminate in enrollment or hiring practices. This includes discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.